Trump says he will fire 'some' FBI agents who worked on Jan 6 cases

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Friday he will fire "some" of the FBI agents who were involved in investigations of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"I'll fire some of them because some of them were corrupt. I have no doubt about that. I got to know a lot about that business, that world. I got to know a lot about that world, and we had some corrupt agents, and those people are gone, or they will be gone," he told reporters at the White House.

At Trump's request, the bureau earlier this week turned over the details of nearly 6,000 FBI employees who worked on those cases. Agents since filed suit against the Justice Department (DOJ), saying the action is "politically motivated retribution."

"Upon returning to the Presidency, Mr. Trump has ordered the DOJ to conduct a review and purge of FBI personnel involved in these investigations and prosecutions," according to the court filing. "This directive is unlawful and retaliatory and violates the Civil Service Reform Act."

The nine FBI agents filing the lawsuit allege that Acting Attorney General James McHenry and other DOJ officials are retaliating against them by distributing surveys asking about their involvement in the investigations against the president for them "to be terminated or to suffer other adverse employment action."

Thousands of Trump's supporters overran the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, smashing through doors and windows, and clashing with law enforcement as they barged into the federal legislature.

Lawmakers rapidly sought to find shelter in secure locations as the rioters entered Congress in scenes of pandemonium not seen at the Capitol since the British burned the building to the ground during the War of 1812.